When the singer was asked at a recent Q&A session whether Downing might return, Halford maintained that he won't say never.

"It is such an emotionally charged question," Halford said, from Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Center in Arizona. "It's like, 'Why isn't Ace [Frehley] back in KISS?' I think what will happen will happen. I know that's kind of a nebulous response. I like to be as honest as I possibly can. I think being honest is a pretty good way to live your life, and I don't want to send mixed messages."

Halford said in 2017 that he would consider doing a one-off reunion with Downing. Bassist Ian Hill, the band's longest serving member, said in a recent interview that there are no plans to bring Downing back. He, too, would not say the guitarist will never return.

Halford's ambiguity on Downing's future with the band is understandable. He famously left Judas Priest in 1992 only to return in 2003 after years of reunion speculation.